Humphreys,
Kent. Shepherding Horses: Understanding God’s Plan for Transforming Leaders.
Oklahoma City: Lifestyle Impact Ministries, 2010
Humphreys builds this leadership book on an allegory
designed to narrow the field of influence concerning leaders. He proposes that
within the flock for which the pastor is responsible as shepherd, horses have
infiltrated. These horses are for Humphreys symbolic of strong workplace
leaders within the church--and these leaders must be tamed.
Humphreys
begins by asking “What did Jesus do?” as the perfect shepherd. He proposes that
horses are trained when they respond to the gospel, understand God’s principles,
work, reproduce and relate to the Father. He continues by building on a vision
that he suggests will transform cities and churches. The principle hinges on
the the way leaders are equipped as ambassadors through relationships,
understanding each other contextually and affirmation.
The allegory on
which the premise of the book is built is problematic as it exceeds the bounds
of the principle it tries to illustrate: shepherds taming wild horses found
among sheep? The allegory breaks down further as the author examines the
character of the horse through the lens of scripture, only each scripture
speaks negatively and Humphries forces it into his imagery with a positive
spin. This reader is not convinced of the premise due to the weakness of the
foundational argument. What did Jesus do? He did not train horses, but was a
shepherd to sheep.
